


Balancing the Scales

by MoonFire1



Category: Captain America (Movies), Captain America - All Media Types, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Blaming Steve Rogers for everything does not make him guilty, Gen, Not A Fix-It, Not Tony Stark Friendly, PTSD, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Steve Rogers and the 21st Century, Steve Rogers is NOT stupid, Steve Rogers is not a villain, The Accords are crimes against civilization, This is justice, Tony Stark is an Asshole, survivor's guilt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-31
Updated: 2017-08-31
Packaged: 2018-12-22 04:30:28
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,443
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11959764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonFire1/pseuds/MoonFire1
Summary: “Proud of you, Steve. You exposed the truth.”“Thanks, Sam.” Rogers laughed humorlessly. “I just wish the truth were enough.”--Steve has some things to get off of his chest. The whole world will be listening.





	Balancing the Scales

**Author's Note:**

> I have grown so weary of fandom blaming Steve Rogers for every ill that occurs within MCU. I have grown so weary of Tony Stark being excused for everything he has done without others being granted the same courtesy.
> 
> Needless to say, this story does not paint Tony Stark in a good light. If that is going to piss you off, please hit the backspace now.

_You have to do something!_

**_We need you, Cap!_ **

_If something doesn’t happen we’re all going to die –-_

“Why exactly is that my problem?”

The reporters’ shouts quieted down to shocked murmurs.

Steve Roger’s voice was low, tone deliberately kept even. Clad in solid black leather, he was a far cry from the image of him –- of _Captain America_ –- so many held dear.

“I feel I have more than paid any debt owed to any society,” he continued. “How quickly collective memory fails to retain pertinent details – my memory has no such shortcoming.”

Clips played. Pundits, politicians, secretaries of State and Defense, the President, world leaders, clamored together unharmoniously, yet the message remained uniform.

“You blamed the Avengers, and by extension me, for damages caused in New York.” Footage of the flying alien beasts, relentless robot armies, some people dying yet others saved from the same fate wherever possible.

“You quickly called me traitor at the behest of HYDRA’s infestation with Washington D.C." Relevant evidence obligingly punched the staunchest holdout between the eyes. "I was prepared to die then,” he said thoughtfully, “if it meant once again others would be spared.” More footage including the sound routing of the traitors and Captain Roger’s desperate fight with the Winter Soldier.

“ **James Buchanan Barnes** is his name,” Rogers corrected an overeager reporter frostily. “The longest prisoner of war to have ever been known to exist. The very least of what you owe him is the dignity of his name, as everything else was taken from him.”

Not even two minutes of Barnes’ torture flashed on the screen before two of the reporters became nauseous. Rogers’ lip curled. _You dare to think you have the right to judge him? You would not have survived half a second of what he endured._

“Ultron is the next on my apparent list of sins.” The experimentations that Stark had carried out on poorly understood technology and the resultant consequences were exposed. Rogers’ tone was unforgiving. “You might have noticed how quickly the rest of the Avengers denounced what Stark unleashed – and what we did to try to minimize casualties. _We cannot save everyone_ and I will be damned if I bear the brunt of blame that belongs to someone else any longer.”

(“What the hell is he doing?” Stark had FRIDAY frantically searching in vain for means to hack into (and perhaps control) the feeds from Rogers’ press conference.

He couldn’t determine location – not that he truly intended to turn Rogers over to Ross but insurance was a good thing. The information being released would infuriate a lot of people, not the least being those who had controlled the narratives in the level of government and press.

Stark wanted to be angry but wasn’t prone to the levels of self-deception necessary for him to declare Rogers’ statements false. None of them were, and the receipts were evident to prove it.)

Rogers continued relentlessly, unveiling the origins of Wanda Maximoff, the loss of her twin, the manipulations they had existed under, with the original responsibility for atrocities laid back on HYDRA’s feet. "How comfortable would you feel being deceptively incarcerated against your will by a _well-meaning friend_ ," he asked mockingly. "Can I reasonably expect honest answers, since it is doubtful any of you care about such things if it does not affect you personally?" 

He discussed the fight with Crossbones, how his intentions were to prevent the release of a biological weapon – “oh yes, that was not discussed in the initial reports, was it? It wouldn’t fit your narrative -–” and the moment that Rogers faltered.

“I will bear responsibility for that,” he acknowledged, voice low. “Crossbones, known to me originally as Brock Rumlow, had been one of HYDRA’s handlers for James Buchanan Barnes. He knew that Buc—Barnes would remain my biggest source of shame and guilt. Survivor’s guilt, I’m told it is now called, and PTSD. Yes, I have been diagnosed with both.” He smiled grimly, humor completely absent. “Not many can claim to have stared at the ground as the plane crashes down and live to bear night terrors from it. Nevertheless, the Avengers were dispatched to prevent the loss of life, and people died. Now let me show you what was not released -- had Wanda Maximoff not been present, the death toll would have numbered in the _thousands_." His voice was low, relentless. "Kindly bear such a thing in mind the next time you present your biased reports."

The Accords were brought up next. “Were you aware that the Avengers, with the exception of Stark, were made aware of the Accords three days prior to anticipated ratification? A common legislative trick to push things through without proper procedures.” Rogers voice adopted tones of distinct disgust. “Were you aware that Stark attempted to mislead all of us into signing the documents blindly by claiming they could be revised later? **_Of course not_** – it wouldn’t fit your narrative! That a business man like Stark could say such things with a straight face didn’t sit well with me in terms of trustworthiness. I knew he was lying and he was furious with me for refusing to listen past that point.”

(Stark _winced_.)

Zemo’s part of the story was introduced. The battle at the airport exposed for what it truly had been, with ensuing footage that once again had NOT been released to the media.

(May Parker dropped her coffee cup. She recognized the voice coming from the web-slinger. Peter would be grounded for the rest of his **life** and Stark would be sued into poverty for conscripting her teenaged nephew into fighting for him).

The majority of damage caused had been rendered by Stark and his forces. The loss of Col. Rhodes and the attempted assistance from Sam Wilson would have been enough to cause murmurs, however the footage of Stark shooting Wilson to the ground from point blank range, when the other man had raised no weapons, shocked the reporters into complete silence.

Still, Rogers was not finished.

Siberia was beautifully, wonderfully terrible, as Zemo’s plots were fully exposed. The Avengers could not have been destroyed from the outside – internal destruction would have to suffice for purposes of revenge.

\---

“How did the rogue Avengers get freed from the Raft?”

Rogers raised an eyebrow. “I was not aware their incarceration within the Raft was made public knowledge?”

The ‘reporter’ cursed for tipping his hand.

“What’s the Raft?” another reporter asked, side-eyeing the imposter.

Final footage exposed the monstrosity for the inherent crime against civilization that it embodied. Loops of Wanda Maximoff being shocked by her collar if she so much as _sneezed_ , the denial of judicial process, and prevention of legal representation, were vile enough to make hardened soldiers ill with dread.

“If that could happen to _them_ , couldn’t it happen to _us_?”

Rogers slowly smiled, hearing the muttered question. _Finally, the right tone has been reached._

“I have been branded a remorseless traitor at least six times by my count,” Rogers stated, drawing attention back toward himself. “As I hope you can see –- I am not a traitor. Not to the ideals I truly believed I had served. I will not pledge loyalty to government that would prefer me dead rather than admit the atrocities that are being committed in the name of federal and international law.”

(Ross punched a window and cursed. No station would (or could) stop running Rogers’ press conference and the internet streams were unending.)

“Stark still believes I betrayed him by not exposing James Buchanan Barnes as the assassin responsible for his parents’ deaths.” Rogers’ smile turned humorless once again. “Stark had the same level of information I did; I claimed responsibility to prevent him from murdering Barnes in cold blood. As you could see, it did not prevent him from making multiple attempts. I will not serve with a self-righteous **_asshole_** who remained only concerned for his own guilt and anger rather than ramifications that would affect people across the planet.”

(The glass in Stark’s hand shattered. He ignored the cuts, feeling his heart jump into his throat.)

“And certainly, I will not fight for people that refuse to fight for themselves.” Rogers cleared his throat. “At the beginning of this conference, many of you stated I was needed once again. And, once again, I will ask you to determine how exactly that is **_my_** problem.”

\---

“You pissed off a lot of people.”

“Good.” A hand rested on the clear glass of Barnes’ cryochamber. A darker hand gripped Rogers’ shoulder comfortingly.

“Proud of you, Steve. You exposed the truth.”

“Thanks, Sam.” Rogers laughed humorlessly. “I just wish the truth were enough.”

//end//


End file.
